“You’ve sure been a lifesaver!” “I don’t know what I would have done without you!” How many times have you said those words, or had them said to you? “You’ve sure been a lifesaver!”
Perhaps it was when you changed a flat tire or gave a ride to a stranded motorist in a storm… or when you offered a helping hand to a family member who was loading a U-Haul truck for a big move.. . or. . .the possibilities are endless. But on this Father’s Day weekend I would like to say to every Christian man, “Thanks! You’ve sure been a lifesaver!”
Let me explain. Just this week I heard a speaker discussing recent studies which once again confirms that because the most frequently used image of God is that of Father–that human fathers, more than any other person, shape a child’s life-long image of God. That’s a heavy responsibility! And so I say thank you to all of you men who are demonstrating by your actions that you take your job seriously… that, like Abraham of old, you are men who live by faith… real life-savers in a desperate world!
As fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, teachers, neighbors, friends, children (and grown-ups too) look to you as examples of faith. Do you realize how important a part you play?
It is said of Boswell, the famous biographer of Samuel Johnson, that he often referred to a special day in his childhood when his father took him fishing. The day was fixed in his adult mind, and he often reflected upon many of the things his father had taught him in the course of their fishing experience together. After having heard of that particular excursion so often, it occurred to someone much later to check the journal that Boswell’s father kept and determine what had been said about the fishing trip from the parental perspective. Turning to that date, the reader found only one sentence entered: “Gone fishing today with my son; a day wasted.”
Fathers, don’t sell yourselves short! What you do, who you are, is very important! Abraham was a shepherd, a nomad, an old man with no children, but because of his faith God made him the Father of Nations and you and I have inherited a heritage of faith because he trusted in God, you and I know Christ. What lifesaving faith!
A man and his young son were climbing a mountain. They came to a place where the climbing was difficult and even dangerous. The father stopped to consider which way he should go. He heard the boy behind him say, “Choose the good path, Dad; I’m coming right behind you!”
This Father’s Day weekend I invite you to think about your own life. Who have been those special lifesavers for you? Who are the men of faith who have helped to shape your image of God–helped you to accept Christ’s invitation? “Follow Me.” Who has helped you know that God loves you as you are, not perfect, but forgiven?
Drue Duke (Daily Guideposts 1987 pg. 163) tells of his father’s life-saving gift this way: “When my father’s will was probated, the family was surprised to learn the small size of his estate. We had thought his cash reserves were larger and began to look about for investments he might not have disclosed. None were found–that is, not immediately.
The first inkling came from a widow who told my mother, ‘I would have lost my little grocery store years ago if he had not paid off the mortgage I couldn’t handle.’
‘My son would not be a doctor today,’ a proud father said to me, ‘but your father helped pay for his last year in college.’
Another woman told of bags of canned food Daddy brought to the house when her husband was out of work. A druggist remembered medicine he delivered to an impoverished family after Daddy paid the bill.
And there were others. “I told him I’d pay him back someday,” each told us. ‘But his answer was always the same: ‘Not to me. Find someone else in need and pass it on.’
A small estate? No, the greatest legacy any father could leave his children– the witness of faith, active in love!
Fred Bauer says of his father: “He was of the old school that believed you could measure people by their word and their work. If I were to distill his philosophy of life it would be: ‘Say what you mean, mean what you say; and don’t settle for shoddy work, from yourself or from others.'”
He was the manager of a lumber yard where people were always dropping off things to be fixed. Once when I stopped by after school, I found him meticulously repairing the drawer to a China closet. I watched with interest as he carefully fitted and glued the tongues and grooves of the drawer’s side panels. They looked perfect to me, but he wasn’t finished. For what seemed like hours, he sanded the back of the drawer, a place no one would ever see.
“Why are you wasting your time doing that?” I questioned. “No one will ever know.” Without looking up or without interrupting his rhythmic sanding, he answered quietly, “But I’ll know.”
And I thought to myself, “Yes, and the Lord will know it too.” (Daily Guideposts 1989 pg. 160-161)
Simple, quiet moments. But a father’s integrity made a life-long impression on a young boy–lifesaving, faith-building moments.
I think of my own father, one of those special lifesavers in my life. No, he never talked with me at length about his faith. Those conversations I shared with my mother, but my father shaped my faith with his actions. As a child, I wasn’t dropped off at Sunday School. We went as a family. My mother taught the adult class; my father was the Sunday School superintendent. Daddy didn’t have a fancy education. He only went through the eighth grade. But that didn’t stop him from serving faithfully as a deacon, or from serving the church-at-large by making stewardship visits to other congregations. I grew up seeing the reverence with which my Daddy regarded the task of preparing the elements for communion. I give thanks for a father who never saw Sunday morning as a time for fishing or golfing or sleeping late. Every Sunday we worshipped as a family. Nothing was more important!
That’s a legacy for which I can thank my grandpa Ralston as well. I grew up hearing the echo of that good Scotch-Irish Presbyterian saying, “Nothing is more important than going to church. If what you do on Saturday night interferes with Sunday morning, change Saturday night!”
Thank God for such men of faith. Thank God for fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, uncles, brothers, husbands, neighbors, teachers, friends, who serve as lifesavers, men of faith who dedicate their lives to letting the love of God shine through them, men of faith who help you and me know the joy of being “Children of the Heavenly Father!”
Let’s celebrate Father’s Day by first giving thanks to our loving Heavenly Father, who loves us even more than our earthly fathers – who promises us life in His eternal kingdom. And then let’s celebrate by thanking all those special men of faith who have helped us to know the life-saving power of Jesus Christ.
Happy Father’s Day!
Your sister in Christ,
Linnea Gustafson
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association
